Latest Update on the Tropics Include a Category 5 Hurricane Landfall in Mexico

Posted: October 27, 2023 1:41 pm

A powerful Category 5 hurricane slammed into a popular resort destination in Mexico while what is left of the former Hurricane Tammy is heading toward Bermuda as a tropical wind and rainstorm. Here is the latest on what is happening in the tropics as the month of October comes to a close.

Bermuda Next in Line to See Impacts from Tammy

Although Tammy has lost a great bit of its punch in recent days, the system will still bring impacts to Bermuda this weekend as a tropical wind and rainstorm. Tammy hit a peak status of a Category 2 hurricane on Wednesday, however, it has weakened considerably over the last several hours as it moved into a part of the Atlantic basin with high amounts of wind shear.

Tammy is predicted to remain a tropical wind and rainstorm as it nears Bermuda in the coming days. The system will deliver the greatest impacts beginning Friday and lasting through Sunday. Because it has lost a great deal of its previous tropical characteristics, Tammy’s most significant impacts to Bermuda will come in the form of rough surf conditions and gale-force winds. Rainfall amounts will be limited to up to 1.50 inches for Bermuda.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic Basin

Elsewhere in the Atlantic basin, forecasters are monitoring another area of potential development in the north-central Caribbean. Hurricane experts believe that a large area of rain showers and thunderstorms could organize and slowly take on tropical characteristics by early next week.

Should this system develop into a named storm, it will go by the name of Vince. The next, and last, name on the list for the 2023 season is Whitney. The official end of the Atlantic hurricane season is November 30. While activity will likely slow down in the coming weeks, there is still the possibility of more named systems roaming the basin. The season has produced 20 named storms thus far, including seven hurricanes.

Hurricane Otis Makes Landfall in Mexico as Category 5 Storm

Local officials in Mexico are still working to determine the scope of the damage left by Hurricane Otis. The storm roared up on the coastline near Acapulco early Wednesday as a powerful Category 5 hurricane. Widespread communication and power outage have made it difficult for residents to alert officials about the extent of the damage. However, satellite images show flooded roadways, shattered windows, and significant damage to the infrastructure in the resort destination.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador confirmed that all communication systems are down in the region, home to about 800,000 people. While over 500,000 homes and businesses were without power in the Guerrero state, about half of these outages have been restored by late Thursday.

The Acapulco International Airport was forced to suspend operations due to the damage sustained. Mexico’s Secretary of Infrastructure, Communications, and Transportation agency shared pictures of debris piles in and around the airport.

Otis was particularly destructive because it strengthened so quickly, not giving residents much time to prepare for its landfall. The feature exploded from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in a period of just 12 hours, undergoing what hurricane experts refer to as a period of rapid intensification.

The good news for Mexico is that the storm weakened as quickly as it strengthened, dissipating as it moved over the mountainous terrain. However, the moisture left from Otis continued to pound southern Mexico through Thursday, raising the risk of flash flooding and mudslides.

Did you find this content useful? Feel free to bookmark or to post to your timeline for reference later.

Recent Posts